Secret Memories
by Gingeh
Summary: Edward was, predictably, the first to break the quiet. "Any chance you're a Hawkeye from the future, here to tell us how we get out of this?" -Royai-
1. Chapter 1

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_"Nothing's perfect, the world's not perfect, but it's there for us, trying the best it can. That's what makes it so damn beautiful.__" _

_"Shut up and eat."_

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**Secret Memories**

By Gingeh (who owns nothing but much love for this pairing)

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"I really think you should leave, Hawkeye."

"I'm afraid that's not a possibility, sir."

Roy Mustang paused in his drawing of the alchemical array. "You know you have no obligation to be here. Work ended an hour ago."

"My obligation is to protect you, sir," was her firm reply. She watched him sharply as he shook his head and gripped his chalk.

"I'm not in any danger, Hawkeye."

"Then why do you want me to leave?"

"You're distracting me."

She cocked a brow. "I might believe that, if I didn't know for a fact that you've been drawing arrays like this for almost twenty years."

"This one is different."

"Which implies that it would be difficult, which _also _implies dangerous. I'm staying, sir."

He opened his mouth, but after another look at her unwavering stance, whatever argument he was about to make turned into a loud sigh. "Then at least sit down. My neck hurts just trying to talk to you."

She sat, facing him directly with her back against the nearest wall, and he reluctantly turned back to his work, muttering under his breath.

Riza continued to watch him for a moment. "What is it, exactly, that you're trying to do, sir?"

This time, he didn't even look up as he answered. "I'm trying to create a new way of interrogating – the military's current system is barbaric, and any information we get is uncertain at best. This new alchemy technique _should_, if it works the way I want it to, actually allow the user to see into the prisoner's mind and retrieve what they need."

"That's a powerful idea, Colonel," Hawkeye said, a finger absentmindedly stroking her gun. "It could be dangerous, in the wrong hands."

He barked out a laugh. "I know. That's why the military isn't getting their hands on this until after I become Führer___. _I know exactly what they'd do with it, if they knew," he added darkly.

She nodded once before allowing the room to lapse once more into silence.

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The clock had just reached three AM when Mustang finally completed the large array. He carefully stepped out of the circle, doing his best not to smudge any of the lines, and surveyed his work. He mentally patted himself on the back for a job well-done. He'd actually been working on this…project, for quite some time. But tonight, tonight was the night to see if it would really work. In theory, this new alchemy should work inanimate objects as well as humans (_that_ had been a tricky little array in and of itself – who knew inanimate objects had memories at all?), so he was planning to test it out first on the potted plant resting next to his desk.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he glanced at the dozing Hawkeye. Shortly after one AM, he'd started encouraging her to rest - if she wouldn't leave, she ought to at least get a little sleep. Although she'd been resistant at first, the recent long hours and accumulating late nights had caught up to her and she had drifted off. She looked much less intimidating when asleep than when awake, he mused, studying her closely. Her lashes (long lashes, he realized suddenly) were unmoving against her face, her lips were parted slightly as breathed (he gulped at he watched her chest move slowly up and down). Her hair had come loose from its tight restraint, and was now tumbling down to lie across her shoulders.

When he realized he'd been staring at her for much longer than was strictly necessary, he coughed and quickly turned back to his masterpiece and avoided looking at her entirely.

Which was why he didn't notice at all when, as she shifted in sleep, one of her feet moved to rest lazily on the edge of the array.

He removed his gloves, placing them far off to the side (you never knew what would happen when two arrays got mixed up together), and rolled up his sleeves. He placed the plant in the center of his creation, took a deep breath, and, once again picking up the chalk, prepared to connect the final lines on the outside of the array.

"Boo."

The whisper, accompanied by a small tap on his shoulder, caused Mustang to jump about three feet straight up in the air. As he came back down, he whirled to glare at his 'ghost'; Havoc, who was grinning widely at his surprise, as well as Breda, Falman, Fuery, and both the Elric brothers.

Ed, who was holding a Polaroid camera and looking rather like Christmas had come early, was the first to speak. "This," he said, waving the quickly-drying picture around, "Is going straight on the military billboard tomorrow."

Roy was trying to keep his temper. "What are you _doing_ here?" he asked, in as calm a tone as he could muster with his teeth clenched tightly together.

Havoc, obviously the ringleader of this little escapade, lit a cigarette. "Well…we noticed neither you nor Hawkeye left the office at your usual time. So we, _as a group_," Here he sent a quelling glare towards Fuery, who quivered and adjusted his glasses – apparently, the sergeant wasn't a willing participant of this, "Decided that we should stick around and see what happened between you two."

"Not that anything _did_ happen," put in Breda. "You just don't know a good opportunity when you see it, do you, Colonel?"

"I don't know," said Falman thoughtfully. "There were a couple of longing glances here and there…"

Roy sputtered, his face turning red.

"Um," said Al hesitantly. "Do you guys think maybe we should take this outside?"

"Why?" Ed asked, pausing for a moment in gleefully chuckling over his blackmail.

Al glanced nervously over his shoulder. "Because I get the feeling Lieutenant Hawkeye isn't a heavy sleeper, and she still has her guns with her."

There was a mad – albeit silent – rush for the door. But said rush came to a screeching halt when Havoc blocked the exit with his body. "Oh, no," he whispered. "We're not leaving until _he_ does!"

Indeed, Roy was still standing in front of his array. "Why should _I_ leave? _I'm _in no danger."

"He's got a point."

"Shut up, Falman," Havoc snapped, voice rising slightly. Hawkeye stirred, and Fuery clapped a hand over the smoker's mouth, eyes wide.

"Shh!" the sergeant cautioned, so quietly you could hardly hear it.

"Look," Roy said in a normal tone (causing Fuery to remove his hand from Havoc's mouth and start making frantic shushing noises in his direction). "I've been working on this for a good two years now, and I don't feel like letting your little games ruin the climax of my work. I'm _finishing_ this; _you're _getting out."

He pointed turned his back on them, and (once again) picked up his chalk.

Havoc was having none of this. Throwing his cigarette down and crushing it into the carpet beneath his boot (Al winced) he grabbed Fuery – for no apparent reason – and marched up behind the Colonel, preparing to forcibly drag his superior out of the room so he could continue the conversation. Ed, excited at the prospect of seeing the man who annoyed him so much manhandled, was close behind, a concerned Al trailing after him. Breda and Falman looked at each other, shrugged, and joined the crowd.

Fuery was protesting silently, trying to tug his hand out of Havoc's hold. In doing this, he tripped – over Ed. Al, Breda, and Falman all reached to catch him at the same time, bumped heads, and fell to the floor with Fuery, who, in turn, fell on top of Ed.

Havoc was still holding on to Fuery's hand throughout all this. As the sergeant fell, he pulled the smoker backwards, and Havoc's other hand reached out blindly for a hold. He found the colonel's shoulder – just as he was completing the array.

The light of the completed alchemy flooded the room, illuminating the array, the pile of people and…

"Hawkeye," Roy whispered, horror in his words as he realized too late the position of her foot. She was glowing from the inside, somehow still asleep, still beautifully asleep.

…Was she getting closer?

No, _he_ was getting closer, he and the rest of the squadron, who seemed to have finally realized what was happening and were looking at him in terror. They were trying to communicate him, he could see their mouths forming words…but they made no sound. He tried to tell them so, only to find that he was mute as well.

Hawkeye's sleeping face drew ever nearer, and it was growing. The light was brighter, the room was huge and empty, and suddenly all he could see was her face.

Then it was gone, the world was black.

…_Am I dead?_

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_**Author's Note:**_

Happy Royai day! Yes, I posted a fic - no, I wasn't just saving it for today. I wrote it, like, just over the past two nights. So no worries, I haven't been holding out on you! But I'm so excited - this is the only pairing I know of that has an actual _day_. All you RoyxEd shippers out there...be jealous. Be very jealous. *evil grin*

_Memories_ is definitely an appropriate title for this. Approximately one year ago today, I wrote my first Royai fic, and posted it for the holiday. Sigh...it feels like so long ago! Way back then, I would never have imagined that Royai would be the pairing I'd write for the most often. I feel so amazed, also, at just how far my writing has come. Thanks so much, you guys, for all your support and many reviews. :)

Also, this Royai day fic also happens to be a landmark: This will be my first multi-chapter fic - not a oneshot, or a twoshot, but something ongoing! Thrilling, isn't it? ;P. And I couldn't have picked a better time - I'm going on a semi-vacation for two weeks, where all I'll have to do is lie in my room and _write_. Whee! ^_^

Cookies go to all reviewers, as always ;D

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	2. Chapter 2

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_"That's not the way to get promoted, Hawkeye!"_

_"Relax, sir, I just saved your life. Your flame attack's no good in the rain."_

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**Secret Memories**, chapter two

_By Gingeh (who, despite many attempts, still doesn't own FMA)_

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…_If I'm dead, I shouldn't be able to move, right?_

He tried it, just to see. He could, indeed, feel parts moving. And he realized that his eyes were closed. He opened them slowly, blinking. He was lying in a pile of snow. He looked down. He was on a hill, a snowy, icy hill.

…That didn't make sense. It was summer, wasn't it? It had been this morning.

_Where are the others?_

He scanned the area around him. Sure enough, groaning slightly and twitching, the members of the Mustang squadron were scattered around him. They all _seemed_ unharmed. Good.

He slowly stood, stretching and wincing. Whatever that was that his alchemy did, it sure took a lot out of him. He felt like he'd just run twenty miles. Barefoot. _In the rain_.

…Wait. Something was off.

_Why aren't I cold?_

He was standing in what was obviously near-freezing weather, in nothing but his standard military uniform. Summer uniform, at that, made of light, breathable cotton. But he was perfectly comfortable.

"All right, Colonel Bastard." Oh, Ed was the first to rise. He looked groggy, like he'd just woken up from a long nap – but it hadn't affected his insulting ability, that was sure. "What's going on?"

"I'm not really sure, Fullmetal," Roy said. "But I have a question for you. Are you cold?"

"Why the heck would I be cold, you idiotic…" He looked around him, light dawning in his eyes. "Oh. That's weird."

"Excellent observation, kid," Havoc commented dryly. He was rising too, now, and Roy noticed something else odd. He felt a shiver go down his spine – neither he, Fullmetal, or Havoc had left any impression in the snow.

"Havoc?"

"Yeah, sir?"

"Throw a snowball at me, would you?"

Havoc stared at him for a moment but, not one to waste an opportunity, knelt down to roll a snowball. The snow went right through his hands. Fuery, who had just risen, choked and fell down again.

"That's weird," commented Havoc.

"Excellent observation," Ed mocked.

Havoc growled. Al, the latest to move from the snow, shook his head at his brother. "Ed!"

"This is very strange," said Falman, who hadn't bothered to stand and was simply running his fingers through the unmoving snow. "What do you make of it, colonel?"

"Obviously, it's an effect of my alchemy," Roy said, looking over at the last to awaken – Breda was looking dumbfounded as he tried making a footprint in the snow.

"What was your alchemy designed to do again?" Havoc asked, reaching in his pocked for a cigarette.

"To see into another's memories-" Roy cut himself off with a face palm. Hawkeye's foot in the array…her body glowing…her face drawing closer…

"Please don't let us be where I think we are," he muttered.

"What? Where are we?!" Ed demanded.

Roy ignored him, instead taking a second, close look around him. Sure enough, at the top of the hill, a huge, foreboding house looked down on them. A very _familiar_, foreboding house.

"ARGH! Answer me!"

"Be quiet, squirt, I'm thinking."

"I'M NOT LITTLE! DON'T CALL ME MIDGET! OR SHORTY! OR SHRIMP!"

"Brother!" Al held him back as Ed attempted to murder the colonel.

"Oi, someone's coming!" Havoc pointed, and sure enough, trudging up the hill a little way from them was human figure.

Mustang groaned loudly. "Kill me now."

"BE GLAD TO!"

"Brother!"

"C'mon, let's go ask them where we are," Havoc said, beginning to jog towards the figure, closely followed by Falman and Breda.

Fuery hung back. "I don't know…what if they're unfriendly?"

"FUERY! Get UP here!"

"Coming!" The sergeant hurried after Havoc, brow scrunched up in concern.

Mustang sighed. "Might as well get it over with." He began striding after the others, Al and a still-frothing Ed coming shortly after him.

Mustang saw the Havoc and company had come to a halt, clustered around the person. Well, clustered _through_ the person would be more fitting – the tightly bundled-up young man was paying them no attention and simply walking right through them. It was slightly disturbing to watch.

Roy reached them just as Fuery was saying, "I don't think he can hear us, either."

Havoc blew a heavy puff out of his cigarette. "This is getting old fast," he grumbled. Noticing Mustang's arrival, he addressed him next. "Hey, sir, any idea _what the hell is going on?_"

"Maybe," Roy said evasively.

"Hey," Al said suddenly, looking around. "Where's Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"That's right," Breda said, blinking. "She'd usually be barking orders at us by now."

"I suppose she didn't come with us..." Falman said. After a glance around him, he added, "Wherever we are."

"Oi!" Havoc yelled after the boy. "Listen! See! _Something!_"

The boy paid him no mind, only to continue to struggle his way up the hill against the wind. (Mustang silently noted that they couldn't feel wind either.) His hat flew off, revealing a thick, black mop of hair that quickly became speckled with snow. He turned as if to retrieve his cap, but then apparently decided it wasn't worth it and returned to his trek.

"Youngsters," Havoc said with disgust. "No respect."

Al made a sound like sounded like a swallowed chuckle, and Ed glared first at Havoc, then at his brother.

"Well," Fuery said, apparently resigned to having no say in anything, "What do we do now?"

"That house seems to be the nearest thing to civilization, not that we can see much in this storm," Falman said. "Also, the only human we've seen seems to be heading in that direction. I propose we head for that."

"I think we should go downhill," Mustang said strongly.

"Why?" Ed asked, looking at him suspiciously.

Roy faltered for a minute, but quickly recovered. "Because the storm only seems to get worse the further up we go, and I, personally, don't feel like finding out if I can freeze to death even if I can't feel it."

"Bah, we might already be dead," waved off Havoc. Fuery gasped, and looked at him in horror. Havoc ignored him and continued, "I want to find out what's going on. What have we got to lose?"

"But there's a town just a little way from here," Mustang said, growing increasingly desperate.

"Hah!" Ed cried, pointing at him dramatically. "How would you know that? I thought you didn't know where we were!"

The colonel froze. "Um…"

"Fullmetal makes a good point, sir," Falman said, raising his eyebrows. "How _do _you know that?"

With the whole group glaring at him, Roy had no choice but to relent. "Fine. We'll follow the kid."

"No, we want to know –"

"Havoc," Roy interrupted him. "Just follow the kid. Everything will be…clear, once we get to that house."

Giving him no chance to protest, Roy turned and began following the still-struggling boy. After an exchange of puzzled glances, the group shrugged and trailed after him.

After a few more silent minutes, they finally reached the big house – obviously a mansion, upon closer inspection.

The front door was just as big and threatening as the rest of it, and the boy, who'd reached gotten here slightly ahead of the Mustang Squadron, hesitated for a moment before getting enough nerve to risk a knock.

The sound echoed beyond the door, and Fuery whimpered.

After a few, foreboding moments, someone unlocked the door. The group took a deep breath.

The door slowly swung open.

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**_Author's Note:_**

First of all, I must distribute the promised cookies to _YourLifeInWords_, _Neopuff, Athena's Heart_, and _Mangarific - _*hands out treats*. Also, special thanks go to Miss Neopuff here for pointing out there there _are_, in fact, other 'pairing days' - Ling/Ranfan Day on February 11th, and EdWin Day on May 15th. This is what I get for not reading too much other than Royai ;P.

Secondly, I'm sure most of you - if not _all_ of you - have guessed by this point where they are. In fact, you probably guessed from the _first_ chapter. But, for the few of you who haven't, your suspicions will be confirmed next chapter. ;).

Have I mentioned I _love_ writing Ed? Because I do. It's harder for me to do his serious (*cough* emo *cough*) side, but seriously, he's a blast. I feel bad for Al, though - he has to keep him under control. I love Fuery, too, poor guy. I apparently enjoy having him tortured - xD.

Also, I'm hoping to update about every five days or so, or at least once per week. That's my goal, and I hope you guys will stick with me ;D.

Let's see, reviewers got cookies last time, right? Then this time, you may have some of those little chocolate-mint-thingies that you find on top of your pillow when you first check into a hotel. (Don't you just _love _those? I do *drools*)

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	3. Chapter 3

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_"Will you follow me?"_

_"You're asking me that now?"_

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**Secret Memories**

By Gingeh (who is now the proud owner of a 'my jutsu beats your alchemy!' button :D. ...What? C'mon, Naruto's got _way_ more bishies!)

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It was a bit of a letdown when the one who opened the door was nothing but a little blonde girl, peeking out through the crack of the barely-open door.

"Colonel!" Havoc turned to him, obviously annoyed. "Where's all my answers? Hm?"

"Wait for it, Havoc," Roy said tonelessly.

Almost as if on cue, the boy spoke up, and the group startled at its familiar tone. "I'm looking for the Hawkeye household. Is this it?"

"'Hawkeye'?" whispered Fuery. "You don't think…"

"Shut up, Fuery," Havoc said, also whispering for some reason.

The door opened a little more, and the girl stared at the boy suspiciously. "Who wants to know?"

"I'm Hawkeye-sensei's new student," the boy said, a little pride creeping into his voice. "Roy Mustang."

_Here _was the explosion Roy had been expecting. While Havoc almost choked on his cigarette, Falman, Fuery, and Breda stared back and forth in shock between the now easily-recognizable boy in front of them and the disgruntled colonel standing beside them. Ed was muttering something about height (apparently, Mustang as a kid topped him easily), while Al patted him comfortingly.

Roy sighed, knowing it was only going to get worse.

The girl opened the door entirely, although she herself stayed in the shadows. "Oh," she said. "Well, you took long enough. You were supposed to be here yesterday, you know."

"Snowstorm," Child-Roy said, stepping inside and brushing off snow. "It does affect traveling conditions a little. The trains weren't running."

"Still," the girl sniffed. "You're really too late. Father has retired for the night – he'll see you in the morning."

"'Father'?" Child-Roy asked, pausing in his snow dispersal. "I didn't know Hawkeye-sensei had a wife."

"Well, he doesn't," the blond said stiffly. "My mother's dead."

"Oh," the boy said. There was a moment of silence. (Well, between _them_, anyway. The Mustang squadron was still freaking out.)

Child-Roy was the one to break it. "I'm sorry," he began awkwardly.

"Why should you be?" The girl interrupted matter-of-factly. "You didn't know her, you don't know me."

"Well…" Child-Roy apparently didn't have an answer to that, and the girl sniffed again.

"Hurry up and come in," she said, turning around and starting to walk away. "You're letting out all the warm air. Shut the door behind you."

He hastened to do as she said, obviously not noticing as the group of invisibles slipped in just before the door slammed shut.

"Although," Falman commented, having snapped out of his state of shock. "Considering everything else we've experienced, I think we could probably just phase through the door."

"I'd rather not," Breda shuddered. "This is weird enough as it is."

"Hey, wait up!" Child-Roy raced after the little girl, who was now far ahead of him. The rest, in turn, quickly followed him.

"Hey, sir," Havoc said to Roy as they ran. "Why do you think we're in your memories? That is where we are, right? We haven't gone back in time or something, have we?"

"No, we're in a memory," Roy confirmed.

"Then why this one?"

Roy didn't reply. Just as Havoc was about to probe him further, he realized they'd come to a halt. The girl was opening a door, and she motioned to Child-Roy. "This is where you'll be staying while you're studying under my father."

"Thank you," Child-Roy said, giving her a dazzling smile. Apparently, he was hoping to make up for the mother mistake from earlier.

She didn't look up.

His grin wavered.

Havoc snickered, and Roy blushed heavily.

Fuery was studying the girl closely. "Hey, guys, don't you think that looks like…"

Child-Roy started to speak, and Breda clapped a hand over the sergeant's mouth, effectively cutting him off.

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot," Child-Roy was saying. "Can we start again?" He cleared his throat. "Hi. I'm Roy Mustang. It's nice to meet you."

He swept her an elegant bow, and the girl snorted.

But he persisted. "And your name, milady?"

Older Mustang clenched his teeth – he knew what came next.

"The butler calls me Miss Elizabeth," she said reluctantly. "That's my real name: Elizabeth Hawkeye. But I hate that – Elizabeth is so stuffy and proper and _boring_. My friends call me Riza."

She finally looked up and let light shine on her face, and Fuery screamed, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT _I KNEW IT!_"

Havoc's cigarette finally fell out of his mouth. "You…you and Hawkeye…"

Breda sat down. Hard. Falman quickly joined him, as did Ed.

Roy sighed. "Well, now you know."

Al, apparently the least shocked and the most sympathetic, reached down to pat his shoulder. "Don't worry, sir. I'm sure they won't tease you too bad."

Ed suddenly began chuckling maniacally. "Yes! Yes! This is so much better than the jump thing from earlier! I can use this for_ever_! Forever! I'm never letting this go!"

Al and Roy shared a wince. "Well," Al said hopefully. "I'm sure Lieutenant Hawkeye will protect you. You know once we get out of here. If we ever get out of here."

Child-Roy was speaking again, and the group reluctantly fell silent. (With the exception of Ed's evil cackling.) "So…" he said, tousling his hair slightly. "Only your friends call you that? Then…may I call you Riza?" He shot her another dazzling smile.

"No," she said flatly.

The Mustang squadron burst out laughing; even the usually more polite Fuery and Al. Roy blushed a deep crimson, and scowled.

"You," Child-Riza continued, "Are to call me Miss Hawkeye. I, in turn, will call you Mr. Mustang. Are we clear?"

She gave him a scowl that was so exactly like one the Hawkeye of present time would've given that the laughter began afresh.

When Child-Roy responded with nothing but a wide-eyed, shocked silence, she rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a 'yes', Father will meet you at eight-thirty for breakfast. Either I or the butler will come to get you."

With that, she turned on her heel and abandoned the gaping Child-Roy in the hallway. He stared after her for a minute before his face broke into a wicked smirk. "Interesting," he mumbled. He entered his room and shut the door with a solid click.

Havoc whirled on Roy, grinning. "'Interesting'?" he asked, complete with air quotes. "Little Hawkeye is 'interesting', huh, sir?"

The group formed a circle around Roy, whose blush had reached epic proportions. "Look, that was a long time ago, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Edward said, sarcasm positively dripping from his voice. Roy glared daggers at him.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye was very cute as child, wasn't she?"

The entire group turned to stare at Al. He looked uncomfortable. "What? She was."

"She has always been very attractive," Falman said thoughtfully. The group transferred their looks of horror to him now. He shrugged. "It's facts. Her personality may be frightening, but data shows that two-thirds of the military males in her age group have or have had feelings for her – on sight, anyway."

"Ooh, the colonel's got competition," Breda chuckled.

Roy clenched his teeth, and wished with all his might he hadn't left his gloves on the table back in the office. "Can we be serious for a moment, please?"

A resounding chorus of 'no's came from Ed, Havoc, and Breda. Ed's answer was closely followed by a "Brother!" from Al.

Roy sighed. "Look, we really need to worry about getting out of here."

"Why?" Havoc grinned, lighting a new cigarette. "Worried we'll see more precious childhood memories?"

"I don't know how to leave," Roy said bluntly. That silenced them, and he continued, "My original plan for this alchemy was to test it on a plant first, and even then the memories would have been spread out in front of us like a map – we weren't supposed to get sucked into _anything_. I don't even have an anchor or the like to get us back with."

"Then what do we do?" Fuery wrung his hands anxiously.

"Well," Roy said slowly. "My theory is this: Since Hawkeye was asleep when the alchemy was taking place, she was probably dreaming. When they alchemy took affect, her dream was simply changed to a memory. She's probably dreaming this right now. Therefore, we just need to wait until she wakes up. The problem is that dreams are strange things when it involves time. We could be stuck in here for a few more hours, days, weeks, or even years."

"Oh, no…" Fuery wailed, tears springing to his eyes. "We're never getting out!"

"No!" cried Ed. "We _have_ to get out! How am I going to blackmail Colonel Bastard if all the people I could blackmail him _to _already know what the blackmail _is_?!"

"Way to put things into perspective, Edward," Havoc said dryly.

"But this is odd," Roy said, looking around. "We should be experiencing some other strange things right about now."

"What could be weirder then what we've already seen?" Breda asked.

"Well, since younger Hawkeye should be falling asleep right about now, that means she won't have any memories, right? That's means that any second now we should go through a –"

Just then the group was swallowed up in whirl of shifting colors, only to suddenly appear in what could only be little Riza Hawkeye's room. She was just stirring, and her eyes slowly drew open.

"–time skip," Roy finished. "That."

Roy herded the rest of the Mustang Squadron through the wall (apparently, they _could_ phase through solid objects), and they found themselves standing outside another hallway. "I think we've only skipped forward to the next morning," Roy said, running his fingers through his hair. "But for all I know, we could have jumped forward two years, or even more then that, if younger me has already left."

"You were training under Hawkeye's father for _two years_?" Havoc said incredulously.

"I think it was three and a half, actually," Roy said, attempting to sound offhand. "Maybe a little more, but that's not the point. As I was trying to say, since someone isn't consciously controlling which memories are being shown, we could skip forward, backward – any which way through her memory. Or we could keep going in a day-to-day fashion. There's just no way to tell."

All at once, Hawkeye opened the door and stepped out to join them in the hallway. She was actually standing _in_ Fuery, until he squealed and ran for the other side of the hallway. "That felt so _weird_," he said, shuddering.

Havoc was staring at Child-Hawkeye. "Uh, sir? I don't think we just skipped to the next morning."

Roy looked at Hawkeye, and then swore loudly. Indeed, she had obviously aged several years since they had seen her last. Her hair was longer, and she'd grown out of her chubby-cheeked, cute phase.

In his scrutiny, Roy noticed that her eyes were red-rimmed, and he was taken at once to the one time he'd ever seen Hawkeye cry. "I know where we are," he said darkly. "Or when, really."

"When?" asked Fuery.

"We've skipped forward about…I'd say five years."

At that moment, a young man in dressed in the dark clothes of mourning rounded the corner. He saw Hawkeye and quickly strode towards her to envelope her in hug. She let him, and she hid her face in her shoulder as he stroked her hair.

"I see the relationship has matured," commented Havoc, staring openly as Child-Roy – well, Young-Roy, pressed a gentle kiss against Hawkeye's hair, and then murmured something in her ear.

"The night before this, I watched her father die," Roy said simply.

Silence.

"…Oh."

"Yeah."

Roy walked away, and, after a moment, the rest followed.

It was Havoc who dared to speak first. "It wasn't…you know, _murder_, was it?"

"No. He died of natural causes."

"Ah."

After another few quiet minutes, Havoc glanced at Falman, who nodded and ushered the others away to give the two some privacy.

After they were gone, Havoc spoke again. "What are you thinking about."

Roy sighed. "Just…things. Her father. Hawkeye herself. You men. How to get out of here." He paused, but then continued. "Where her memories will take us next."

Havoc's brow furrowed. "Where are you worried we'll go?"

Roy looked at him, eyes haunted. "Ishbal."

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_**Author's Note:**_

Ta-dah! Another chapter, right on time! It came out a _little_ late today, since I scrambling around with a bunch of Father's Day stuff. ...But it's out now, and that's what counts, right? Right?

But wow - apparently, hotel chocolate-mints are very popular O-O. Not that I should be surprised, really, since they _are_ insanely delicious. Anyway, today's yummy review prizes go to: HannahBlack09, Little Murder, Obviously-Outlissa, xXWishesxX, crazy2696, Hakeber.N, Anon E. Mousse, YourLifeInWords, Dailenna, Bubb1eTea, and finally, Evil Demon Warrior Bunny!

By the way, Dailenna made some extremely good points about the whole 'invisible, intangible' thing the group has going on. To tell you the truth, I didn't think too much about _why_ exactly they didn't just sink into the ground or, you know, at least float - I just went with the cliche. But I love the idea that it's like that because they _expect_ it to be like that, so let's go with that ;P.

Also, Hakeber.N...I kind of have this theory about the plant. (A theory I hadn't even thought of until I read your review. :P) I going to say that the plant _did_ come with them - but ended up in a different _part_ of her memory. Because, you know, all of the humans were physically touching each other when the alchemy took place. But the plant wasn't. Therefore, it makes sense that it would go somewhere else. Maybe they'll meet up with it at some point, or something *giggles*.

I had to torture poor Fuery again, did you notice? I have _way_ too much fun doing that. But I tortured Roy too, so maybe it'll even out.

Okay, I'm having an absolute _blast_ writing this. I really should've done a multi-chapter fic sooner :D. Anyhoo, _this_ time around, reviewers can have...hmm, hotel chocolates are going to be hard to beat. How about some Boy Scout Popcorn? It's cool, because I had no idea Boy Scouts sold _anything_, but apparently, they sell popcorn O-o. I guess the whole Girl Scout Cookies franchise kind of eclipses them...

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	4. Chapter 4

* * *

_"I just finished capturing a weirdo."_

_"What?"_

_

* * *

_

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**Secret Memories**

_By Gingeh  
(who doesn't own FMA - which is probably a good thing, since if she did, Fuery would be dragged into a lot more trouble than he'd like)_

_-_

_-_

_-_

_-  
_

Havoc's mouth went dry, while Roy's lips remained glued in a tight, unmoving line. It was several moments before they spoke again.

"Hawkeye was in Ishbal?" Havoc's fingers fumbled for a new cigarette, their shaking belying the calmness of his tone.

"Yeah," Roy replied, his voice heavy. "She was. But I don't know for how long, or even where she was placed…I didn't find her until late in the war. By then, who knows what she could have been through?"

"Isn't there any chance she was placed somewhere almost peaceful?"

Roy shook his head slowly. "A fantastic sniper like her? I'm guessing she was on the front lines, or at least close to them. Besides," he added darkly. "Nowhere in Ishbal was peaceful."

"Ah," Havoc said, puffing frantically. "So, what do we do?"

"Not much we _can_ do, really." Roy ran his fingers through his hair. "We're stuck here. We've just got to keep our fingers crossed that her memory goes in a different direction."

"…How likely _is_ it that it'll go in a different direction?"

"Considering how much those memories would have affected her, and how long the war lasted?…Not very."

"Figures."

"Yeah."

The two stood in silence for another minute.

"C…c'mon!" Havoc laughed shakily, clapping Roy heartily on the back. "I'm sure we'll be out of here before too long!"

Roy chuckled half-heartedly. "We can always hope."

"Are they done talking _yet?_"

The impatient, loud whisper came from just behind them. Havoc and Roy turned to see the rest of the group peering at the from behind a corner. Ed, the whisperer, was looking annoyed.

Roy chuckled. "Yes, Fullmetal. We're through."

"Good," Ed said, quickly stepping out of 'hiding'. "I thought you were going to angst all day."

Al sighed loudly, and Ed glared at him. "What? What?! You were _all_ thinking it!"

"Actually," Fuery volunteered. "_I _was thinking how we were all going to die."

"We can't die," scoffed Breda. "We're in a memory. Heck, we can't even touch anything!" For emphasis, he stepped through the nearest wall, and then reappeared moments later.

"I must agree with Breda," said Falman, patting Fuery on the shoulder. The sergeant didn't look particularly reassured.

Roy coughed, and the attention reverted back to him. "So, I'm assuming you men heard most of that, right?"

A group nod – plus an eye roll from Ed.

"Good." Roy ran his fingers through his hair. "But just so you know, there is a _slight_ chance we won't get to Ishbal. Hawkeye could wake up any moment now – the question is, will the moment be soon enough?"

"See?" Ed grumbled. "Angst!"

"Brother!"

-

-

-

It was a little bit later, and the group was now wandering aimlessly around the house – bored to tears, as Young Riza had been reading in her room for the past two hours or so.

"I was thinking," Falman said suddenly.

Havoc snorted. "Aren't you _always_ thinking?"

"Yes," he replied instantly. (Havoc snorted again.) "But I was thinking about one thing in particular."

"Really?" Roy looked semi-interested. "Well, enlighten us, Falman. We could all do with something to think about right now." He yawned.

"Well, isn't what we're doing right now a bit strange?"

"Strange how?" Ed pushed his way into the conversation.

"Strange, as in, how could_ this_ be a part of Hawkeye's memories? She's in her room reading, so how could she remember what was going on out here?"

"Huh," Roy lightly scratched his head. "That _is_ strange. Then again, so is traveling through someone's memories when they're _supposed_ to be spread out peaceably before you."

"I sense a little resentment there, sir," Havoc chuckled. Roy sent him a death glare.

"He's just mad that his oh-so-special alchemy completely messed up," Ed smirked.

"It hasn't 'completely messed up'," Roy said with a tight smile. "It was tampered with. If I'd been allowed to conduct my experiment _peacefully_, it would have worked fine."

"Sure, sure," Ed shrugged. "You keep telling yourself that, Colonel."

"Shortie."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU'D LIKE TO STICK HIM IN A PICKLE JAR?!"

"Brother," Al sighed, restraining him from attacking Roy.

"You really shouldn't provoke him, sir," Falman said, shaking his head.

"So who's provoking?" His good humor fully restored, Roy walked away, whistling a catchy little tune.

Breda and Havoc looked at each other, shrugged, and followed, also whistling.

Fuery started humming the same song after the three turned the corner. When Ed, Al, and Falman glared at him, he let it fade from his lips. "S…sorry."

"Oi!" Havoc poked his head back around the corner. "You coming? We're gonna go see if Hawkeye's done reading yet."

"Yes, yes, we're coming." Falman quickly strode after Havoc, Fuery in his wake.

Al exhaled. "Come on brother…"

"Why?!" Ed huffed, resolutely sitting down on the floor. "I refuse to follow that idiot!"

"You _have_ to follow him, brother," Al reminded him gently. "You're his subordinate."

"Then I quit!"

"You're not allowed to quit - you signed a contract."

"What? When?!"

"When you first became a state alchemist," Al said gently. "That piece of paper? Loyalty pact? It said you swore your eternal loyalty to Roy Mustang, and would never abandon his side."

"Then I'll break that stupid contract," Ed fumed. "It's just writing. I can rip it up."

"Um...then he has leave to imprison you for treason, brother," Al looked down at his fingers. "That was also in the contract."

Ed growled. "WHY did I sign that stupid thing?"

"I think the colonel dared you to do it." When Ed screamed his frustration, Al patted his head. "There, there, brother. Come on, let's go catch up."

"I'd really rather just stay here," Ed grumbled. "Everyone _else_ followed him already. Why do we have to go?"

"We've been through this already, brother," Al said, shaking his head. "Besides, he's our only hope of ever getting out of here. You don't want to stay in Lieutenant Hawkeye's memories forever, do you?"

Ed stopped to consider that. "…Fine," he said painfully, as if at great sacrifice. "We'll go after him. I'll have to deal with him in _here_ too, and eventually Younger-Me is going to show up – I really don't want to re-live every insult Colonel Bastard has ever thrown at me."

Al smiled brightly. "That's the spirit, brother!"

Ed growled, but before he could respond, Havoc called them again. "Are you two coming or _not_?!"

"Be right there!" Al skipped (as much as a suit of armor _could _skip) merrily down the hall, Ed trailing behind, mumbling and encased in a dark aura.

No sooner had the two of them rejoined the rest of the party then they were once again surrounded by the wide array of colors and soundlessness the signaled a time skip. When they 'landed', Ed complained loudly, "Who falls asleep at four o'clock in the afternoon?!"

"She doesn't necessarily _have_ to be asleep for a time skip to occur," Falman said, straightening his uniform. "By my calculations, sleep will undoubtedly trigger it, but it can happen at any other time as well, for no apparent reason."

"That's annoying," Havoc grumbled.

"Hey!" Fuery suddenly said, looking around. "I know where we are!"

Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "Not Ishbal."

"Well, yes," the sergeant said, scratching his head lightly. "But I've _been_ here!"

"Really?" Havoc suddenly grinned. "Yeah, so have I! Isn't this the Eastern Headquarters military training center?"

Breda's face lit up in recognition. "It is! Man, I had some great times here…new soldiers come here before going into active duty, right? Those were the good ol' days…back when all you had to do was laze around, maybe train for an hour, tops."

Falman let a blissful, reminiscent look cross his features for a brief moment, before schooling his face back into a mask of seriousness.

Roy frowned, and Havoc patted his back sympathetically. "Too bad State Alchemists don't have to go through training – you would've loved it, sir."

"Must've been torture for Lieutenant Hawkeye," Ed commented. "I can't imagine her _ever_ being lazy. How did she stand it?"

At that moment, a gunshot rang out overhead. Instinctively, the group dropped to the ground – except for Ed, who scoffed, "We're _ghosts_. Like a gunshot is going to hurt us."

Al tugged him down anyway, much to his annoyance.

"No, Fullmetal is right, for once," Roy said, standing quickly and brushing himself off. "Obviously, if we can't touch solid objects, a mere bullet wouldn't put an end to us."

"But that's odd," Falman, the next to rise, looked in the opposite direction the shot had been fired. "If I'm remembering correctly, the gun field is over _there_." He pointed.

"I trust your memory," Roy said, almost dryly. "Let's go see what's happening down there."

He strode purposefully in the direction the gunshot had been fired from. Ed wrenched himself from his brother's grasp and raced after him, obviously intending to beat Roy to wherever he was going.

Fuery remained curled up in a ball on the ground. "_I'm_ not going!"

Havoc sighed. "Sure you're not. Hey Al, you're big – help me out here, would ya'?"

As Al hefted one side and Havoc took the other, Fuery was carried, despite many protests and the occasional shriek, towards the gunshot. Falman followed, mumbling and shaking his head. A guffawing Breda was close behind him.

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**Author's Note:**

No big cliffhanger this time! Is that a good thing or a bad thing...? Well, whatever - xP. I'm just excited I managed to get this out on time! Let me tell you, it was close.

But wow, so many reviews! Thanks so much, everyone - you've all been so complimentary and encouraging. I really appreciate it. Let's see, yummylicious Boy Scout popcorn goes to: Lita of Jupiter, OTP, MoonStarDuchess, Silvery Mist, n a g a s h i . n o . k u r o, Mariae, scoobygang101, The Misty Forest, Night Alchemist, PiScEs-GiRl-01, clr12, DancingPickle101, foreverforgotten5, flOofymikO, No one and Nobody, plus one lovely annonymous reviewer who didn't leave their name :P.  
And, of course, extra-big bags of popcorn go to Evil Demon Warrior Bunny, Dailenna, crazy2696, and HannahBlack09 for reviewing not only this chapter, but also the one before it ;D.  
And, of course, largest bag yet goes to YourLifeInWords, who has reviewed all _three_ of the chapters that I have posted thus far ;D.

ALSO, OTP and crazy2694, I'm so sorry for not responding to your PMs yet - it's been a pretty crazy week, and whatever spare time I had, I spent it writing this chapter. I promise, I'll get back to you as soon as I can ;D.

And yet again, we must feel sympathy for poor Fuery. I sense a pattern...but he wasn't the one I tortured the most today. That oh-so-special prize belongs to Ed...poor guy. Just so you know, that contract is totally out of my imagination - but I can see Roy pulling something like that, can't you? *giggles*

You reviewers were pretty much split in half about whether I should write a chapter for Ishbal, or just one without Roy in it. Just so you know, I _do_ plan to do both - but Ishbal will probably be a little later. And my apologies in advance about the possible ickyness of it - I can't write angst. Seriously. T_T. But I'll try, just for you guys.

Reviewers this time get chocolate syrup. Like, a _glass_ of chocolate syrup. It's fantastic - one time, the only sweet thing I could find in the _entire house_ was a bottle of chocolate syrup. It was half gone by the next day. ;)

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	5. Filler chapter

_(Filler chapter, taking place of "I'm sick!" note. Please enjoy! ...Or just move on to the next chapter. xD)_

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__o_

_o_

_o  
_

Roy finds Elric's shorter stature amusing,

Ed thinks it's simply frustrating.

So when one day Ed finds Roy has lifts in his shoes,

His whole world turns simply amazing.

_o_

_o_

_o  
_

Fuery is tortured,

No one can disagree,

He gets picked on and faints rather often.

But it's love! Gingeh swears,

And he makes it too easy!

Besides, look at all the reviews I've gotten!

_o_

_o_

_o  
_

Riza Hawkeye is a puzzle,

A woman in the military,

Who overcomes hurdle after hurdle.

She orders everyone around,

And they all do as their told,

Except, occasionally, her colonel.

_o_

_o_

_o  
_

Day in and day out,

Havoc smokes his cigarettes,

Until Hawkeye shoots.

_o_

_o_

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Gingeh stares at the page of badly written poems in front of her, sighs, and hits her head on the keyboard.

(Hope you enjoyed this random filler! Please proceed to the next chapter for more of Secret Memories.)


	6. Chapter 5

* * *

_"Hello Elizabeth! How are you?"  
"Why, Mr. Roy! Thank you for always calling me. ...Are you calling me from the office again?"  
"Yes, I just had to hear your voice."  
"Well, aren't you smooth. But won't your scaaaary lieutenant get mad at you if you don't get back to work?" _

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**Secret Memories**

_By Gingeh  
(Who's so so so sorry to have been gone for so long - oh, and she no ownie anything.)_

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_

"Ha!" Ed crowed. "Too slow, Colonel!"

Thanks to a brief sprint and great desire for revenge (not that doing this would achieve much), Ed was now about eight feet ahead of Roy in the 'race' to where ever they were going. He was wearing a wide grin, so obviously, 'winning' was making him feel that he was accomplishing something. As to what that could be, Roy wasn't really sure.

"I don't think the Colonel knew you were racing, brother!" Al called from behind them. Ed pretended not to hear.

Suddenly, the noise of a gunshot again rang out, this time noticeably closer. In the distance, Fuery – who was still being carried by Al and Havoc – screamed, "LET ME DOWN!!! AHHHH!!!"

Falman was patting his head comfortingly when yet another shot was fired, and Ed went down as a bullet flew through his chest.

Fuery fainted.

"_Brother!_" shrieked Al, dropping Fuery (not that he noticed) and running in the direction of the fallen blond. By the time he got there, Roy was already kneeling beside Ed, examining him closely.

"Is…is he…" Al's voice trembled.

Roy looked grave for a moment, then leaned down and flicked Edward's forehead. He sat up with a yelp, rubbing the now sore spot. "Hey!"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'd say he's fine. A little stunned, maybe, but fine." He stood, and began walking forward again.

Al wrapped his arms tightly around his brother, his armored body trembling slightly. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again," he whispered. "_Ever_."

"I didn't mean to!" Ed protested. "It just…freaked me out a little! _You_ try having a bullet go through you, and you'll know what I mean."

Al merely hugged him harder, and Ed started turning purple. "Okay, okay," he wheezed, "I promise! Al, let go, you're bruising me and I can't _breath_!"

Al quickly let go, and Ed fell back to the ground with a gasp. Havoc, coming up behind him, chuckled. "You outta get up, kid: You've lost your lead there."

Sure enough, Roy was now far ahead of the rest of them, disappearing around the corner. Ed groaned loudly (in between gasps), and began to get to his feet. He was abruptly knocked down again when Breda back into him.

The plump officer chuckled. "Whoops – sorry Ed. Can't exactly see where I'm going while carrying this." He nodded towards the still-unconscious Fuery. Breda was holding his upper half, while Falman held his feet.

Ed just moaned.

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Several minutes later, the group finally caught up to where Roy was standing. Falman and Al were holding Fuery, since after two more walking-into-someone accidents and six droppings of the sergeant, it had been decreed that Breda could not and should not walk backwards, and he had been relieved of his duty. Ed trailed behind all of them, wearing a sullen scowl, and Havoc took the lead, whistling again and laughing under his breath at the misfortune of others. (He hadn't been one of the ones Breda had walked into.)

After watching Fuery be deposited somewhat gently on the ground (okay, so it was rather roughly, actually), Havoc walked up to Roy. "So," he remarked conversationally. "I take it that's Hawkeye over there?" He pointed to the blonde woman holding standing with her back to them, about ten feet or so away. "What's she doing?"

"I'm not sure," Roy said slowly. "But I think it has something to do with that man over there."

Indeed, directly opposite Riza stood a big red-haired man, holding a smoking gun. In front of him were huddled a few obviously terrified people.

"Hosteges?" whispered Falman, who had come to stand beside them.

Roy nodded. "Most likely."

"'Al'ight," the armed man slurred. "I want mah' booze, 'n' I wants it _now_."

"I think 'booze' is the last thing you need right now, Ronen," Hawkeye said, slowly and clearly. "Why don't you just put down the gun, and we'll get you some good strong coffee. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"No!"

"Of course it does," she said soothingly.

He blinked, no doubt wondering if he'd accidentally said 'yes' somehow. "I…no!"

"Don't worry, just put down that gun of yours, and there's a nice mug of black coffee with your name on it waiting in the mess hall."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before shouting, "NO!"

"That's right, set the gun down by your feet…" She motioned gently.

He roared his frustration, aimed the gun, and shot. Riza moved slightly, and the bullet flew right past her – and through Roy. When he didn't even flinch, Ed's mood turned even darker. (Miniature storm clouds began to gather around him. With _lightning_.)

Havoc was looking at the gunman - Ronen - with interest. "I wonder how he can aim that well. I mean, the guy is trashed."

"Being drunk has different effects on different people," Falman said, also watching the man. "I suspect only his judgment is clouded, and his abilities remain untouched."

At that moment, a new face appeared – another man, obviously a superior officer from his uniform and age, came up behind them. "Hey, what's going on around here? I heard firing-"

Startled, the drunk gunman turned his gun on the other man, and pulled the trigger.

There was no way the older man could avoid it. He was surprised, and unprepared. In the split second after the shot was fired, Roy saw his face turn pale.

But suddenly it was over.

And somehow, the superior officer remained unharmed. He fell to his knees, and the clearing was silent in shock.

For in the wall directly to the older man's right, two bullets were now buried deep.

"No way…" Ed breathed.

Breda slowly turned to face the rest. "Did…did I just see what I think I saw?"

As one, they nodded slowly.

"Then Hawkeye really…"

Again, a group nod.

"She just _shot_ a bullet out of the air," Havoc said, his tone filled with disbelief. "Like, _with another bullet_."

"That's almost impossible," Falman mumbled, closing his eyes as he ran the numbers through his head.

At that moment, Fuery began to stir. He opened his eyes, blinked twice, and stared at Ed. "Weren't you dead?" Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Am…am _I_ dead?"

"No," Falman said flatly, eyes still closed. "Ed was just stunned."

"Oh." Fuery sat up and looked around. "Is the shooting finished yet?"

Havoc walked over and thumped him gently on the back. "Yep."

Fuery stared at him, puzzled. "You say that like it's a _bad_ thing."

There was a unanimous sigh, and the group turned around to head somewhere else. As they filed past Fuery, each gave him a sympathetic smile, or a small, pitying squeeze on the shoulder.

"What?" he cried anxiously. "What did I miss?"

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**Author's Note:**

I am so insanely sorry. Being sick just dragged on and on and _on_. Luckily, it wasn't anything too serious, but it just wouldn't go away! I'm still coughing a little, but I'm feeling a lot better, so I whipped this chapter up for all my wonderful readers. Really, I'm extremely sorry it took this long, and thank you for being so patient, and for your get-well wishes :).

Chocolate syrups go to flOofymikO,crazy2696, foreverforgotten5, scoobygang101, HannahBlack09, MoonStarDuchess, Soulless Reaper, Miriae, No one and Nobody, Athena's Heart, Your Life In Words, Evil Demon Warrior Bunny, piScEs-GiRl-01, OTP, Sonar, Dailenna, bychuu, SnowPrincessMossy, Nayuko, and finally Lita of Jupiter ;D. I'm sorry, I really don't have the energy to look through and which of you wonderful people have reviewed more then one or every chapter and give you special prizes - but you guys know who you are, and you get an extra squeeze of syrup in your glasses, okay? :*

Oh, SnowPrincessMossy, Al _does not_ have his body back throughout any of this story - I really should've mentioned that in the first chapter, I suppose ;P. And Evil Demon Warrior Bunny, he would _really, really_ know, since she was a sniper, and since they're placed in high places where they hopefully can't be seen...still on the front lines (or I count it as so), but not exactly noticable. ;P. AND, foreverforgotten5: for your first question, you'll just have to wait and see (mostly because even _I_ don't know yet), but your second question - yes, they can skip around in time. I've had them go forward thus far, but they could easily skip back at any time. It's just random ;D. And finally, flOofymikO, it's only going to be memories here in Riza's dream, since it's an effect of Roy's alchemy. Mostly, Riza will go through significant events more then everyday ones, since those tend to stick out a lot more in your head. The realtime vs. dreamtime thing is totally real - the average dream only lasts about five seconds, while others can last for hours, but in your mind, it could go on for days. So they could be stuck in Hawkeye's head for a long time, or it could be a really short time. It's kinda confusing, but yeah ;P. And yes, it's Falman's theory that if Riza wakes up, they can escape. Then again, it _is _only a theory...

Again, thanks so much you guys for being so patient with me. Reviewers get ramen noodles (what I've been living off of for the past week or two) ;D.

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	7. Chapter 6

_"I'm glad you're alive."_

_"I'm sorry I worried you."_

* * *

**Secret Memories  
**By Gingeh  
_(Who owns nothing but a small dog who looks little to nothing like Black Hayate)_

_o_

_o  
_

_o_

"I never thought being in a memory could be so _boring_," Ed complained.

It was lunchtime at the training center – again. The Mustang squadron had been stuck for about a week now, the only timeskips occurring throughout the night to get to the next morning. And, after the excitement with the drunk gunman at the beginning, absolutely _nothing_ had happened. Nothing. And while Roy was grateful, even he found himself wishing for _something_ interesting to happen.

Al glanced at Ed, and sweatdropped. "Um, brother? …What are you doing?"

Ed had phased through the lunch counter, and currently the only visible part of his body was his head, sticking up through the salad bowl. It was extremely weird to watch as the people serving themselves paid him no attention and forked the lettuce onto their plates through his skull.

Ed sighed wistfully. "This would be _so_ much more fun if they could see me."

"But they can't," Roy said dryly. "Although you _have _officially disgusted _me_, Fullmetal. Congratulations."

Ed smirked. "Hey, I'll take what I can get."

"I suppose you'd have to, with your shorter stature."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT YOU WANT TO SQUASH HIM LIKE A BUG! AND WHAT THE HECK DOES MY HEIGHT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?"

Havoc groaned loudly. "Even the _fights_ are boring me!"

"So much for 'you can never have too much of a good thing'," Falman said, shaking his head. "We've apparently been witness to far too many Elric vs. Mustang battles over the past few days. It just isn't as amusing anymore."

"Hey!" Ed stopped ranting and whirled on them, eyes flashing. "I'm plenty amusing!"

"I agree; he's _very_ amusing," Roy smirked. Edward turned back to him with a scowl, and the verbal battle recommenced.

The rest of the group sighed.

Havoc plopped down heavily in a chair next to Past-Hawkeye, who was quietly eating her bowl of soup at her empty table in the far corner of the mess hall. (To no one's surprise, she appeared to intimidate the soldiers of the past as much as the soldiers of the present, and so she generally didn't have lunch buddies.) He casually propped his boots up on the table and reached for a cigarette from the seemingly endless supply in his jacket pocket. "So. Falman. Tell me you've got _something_ for me to chew on besides Mustang's 'Hawkeye Eventually Waking Up' theory."

Falman adjusted his glasses. "Well, thus far, the data I've collected has been mostly inconclusive, but—"

Fuery interrupted him with a high and girlish shriek. When the group, even Ed and Roy, turned to stare at him, he raised a shaky finger. "_There's another one," _he whispered, his tone bordering on hysterical.

Two blinks and a collective head turn later found the Mustang Squad with color-drained faces and wide eyes. Standing at the entrance to the cafeteria was the hazy, translucent, but nonetheless very distinct form of First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.

They turned back, and found the first Hawkeye still calmly sipping at her soup. When their gazes returned to the front, the second Hawkeye had spotted them, and began walking towards in their direction, slowly, purposefully, with a look on her face that would have sent Fuery scrambling to hide under the table if he hadn't already done so moments after he first caught a glimpse of the phantom-like woman.

When second Hawkeye finally arrived at the table, there was a brief moment of (somewhat terrified) silence.

Edward was, predictably, the first to break the quiet. "Any chance you're a Hawkeye from the future, here to tell us how we get out of this?"

She glared at him, and he shut up. "No, Edward. I happen to be from your time, and I'm as trapped in here as you are."

"Why do you look . . . like that?" Roy studied Riza closely; she was intangible, obviously. But so were they, and _they_ all at least _looked _solid. Hawkeye looked . . . well, like a ghost. No wonder Fuery was screaming from under the table.

"It's _your _alchemy, sir," he winced at her light accusatory tone, "I would assume it has something to do with the fact that I was asleep when the array was activated, or the fact that we're traveling through _my_ mind."

Fuery, having just calmed down slightly and crawled out from beneath the table, began hyperventilating again. "But, but . . . if you're in here, Lieutenant Hawkeye, how can you be asleep _out there _and wake up so we can get out of here?"

"I'm sure I have no idea, Sergeant Fuery," Riza words were frosty, and seemed to mostly be directed towards Roy. "Though I would appreciate an answer just as much as you would."

"Believe me, lieutenant, we'd all like an answer." Havoc pulled out another cigarette (the first one having fallen out of his mouth when he's first seen the second Hawkeye) and began to chew on it absently. "I've had more than enough of this little venture—we all have—and Ed has enough potential blackmail to keep the entire office laughing for weeks on end."

Ed's grin at that statement was quickly wiped off his face when Hawkeye sent her next almost-murderous glare in his direction.

"And," Havoc continued, building steam as he went uninterrupted by Hawkeye, "I'm _sick _of spending time with you guys. I get enough of you at work as it is, but we've spent the last _two fucking days_ in constant company, because Falman says that if we go through a time skip separately, we might end up in totally different places and eras and _never _manage to get us all out of here!"

"It's just a theory!" protested the senior officer quickly. "You can't blame me for wanting us all out of here as soon as possible, and sticking together is the best way to make sure we all get out at once! Why can't you all understand that? I've tried to explain it so many times now, and you never listen; one or the other of you ends up wandering off, and we—_I_—have to run all over the place to find you and make sure you haven't been sucked into a stray time portal or something! Can't you comprehend the situation we're in right now?"

"Please," Ed scoffed, ignoring Al's tug on his elbow and his plead to _please_ not say anything, brother! "You're overreacting. It's not like we don't know exactly when all the time skips are going to be at this point—we're not in any real _danger_ anyway. Nothing can hurt us in here! And there's nothing _we_ can do to get out of here whether we're together or not, so why does it even matter if we end up in different time periods? Who cares?"

"Weren't you listening to me at _all?_" Falman was clearly ticked off by this point. "What if we do find a way out, and only half our team is there? Do we just pass it by and wait for everyone to somehow coordinate times again? Or do we leave half our members stranded in here, possibly forever? We need to stick together, as annoying as it is—we simply _cannot afford_ to separate at all, at any time!"

"At this point, I don't _care_ if I get separated from all of you and left behind!" Breda stood on his chair to make his point seem more paramount. "All I've heard for the past three days is Mustang and Elric arguing over the _stupidest _stuff, Havoc complaining about how cigarettes don't taste the same in here, and Fuery having fits of hysterics _every two minutes! _I can't take it anymore!"

With that, chaos erupted: Angry shouting, nasty insults, and one or two shoes were thrown. After first attempting to coax his brother from the scene and give up the fight, Al gave up and just tried to make sure no one got hurt too badly. Fuery attempted to get in the middle and calm things down, but he was overwhelmed in moments and retreated back under the table to nurse his wounds (and what little remained of his pride).

The furious roar of the argument was broken when two shots were fired into the air barely an inch above their heads. Havoc, Breda, Ed, and Falman quieted almost instantly when faced with an infuriated Hawkeye wielding a pair of smoking guns.

"I understand that there has been a lot of tension these last few days," she began, her voice deceptively calm. "And I understand that you're all under a lot of stress. But that is _no_ excuse for this completely immature, unprofessional, _barbaric _behavior!"

They flinched.

She continued, her tone biting now. "I have my own issues to deal with right now, and I don't have time to monitor and instruct you men in how to behave as proper adults. I want you go outside to the training yards—I assume you know where those are by now—and watch the _serious _soldiers at work there. Come back when you've learned _something_ about maturity and can deal with one another in a civil manner."

She waved her guns in the direction of the mess hall doors. "Dismissed."

A subdued group of men shuffled out. Hawkeye then turned to Fuery and Al (both of whom immediately stiffened). "Follow and keep an eye on them—I don't want them forgetting and beginning again as soon as they can't see me."

Both pacifists saluted and hurried after the rest of the Mustang Squadron.

Leaving Hawkeye and Mustang alone.

She directed all of her attention towards him, her (extremely) annoyed gaze a not-so-subtle reminder that he was most definitely not off the hook for creating this mess. "Sir. Please begin explaining what—"

She was cut off as he wrapped his arms around her in a type of hug he hadn't given her for years and years; since she was a newly-orphaned little girl who couldn't remember how to cry.

"You're okay," he breathed, his words accompanied by a heavy sigh that indicated deep relief.

And even though she _knew _this was a strategy to make her forget how intensely angry she was with him and his foolishness and his experimental alchemy, she couldn't help feeling a little relieved herself. (Not because she had been _so worried _when she'd ended up somewhere deep within her childhood and couldn't find him anywhere. And she certainly hadn't been worried that he'd gotten in over his head with his invented alchemy, and that he wasn't just wandering around in her memories like herself, and was instead lying in his office heavily injured or worse. He was Roy Mustang, after all: He was older, more experienced, and her superior officer. She'd, of course, known that he was perfectly fine all along, even if he didn't have her with him.)

After a moment, she pushed back, schooling her expression into its usual blank mask. (Not that it had been anything _but_ a blank mask when he'd had his arms around her; she just felt the need refresh her facial expressions every once in a while.) "Yes, sir, I'm fine. I arrived in the time skip this morning, coming from my memory of the day I first became a member of your team. But that's not the point. What is our current plan of action?"

He'd thought she wouldn't notice the way he froze for a moment after her words, but she had, of course. She sighed. This did not bode well. "You don't _have _a plan of action, _do_ you, sir." It wasn't a question.

He felt the need to defend himself. "Falman's theory was that you would eventually wake up, and that would snap us back to reality. That's still plausible."

"No, it isn't." She shook her head, and he noticed that it was securely back up in its clip, instead of falling down like it had been when they'd still been in the office. "The majority of my consciousness is here, in the body I currently reside in. What little remains in my actual body I have no control over, and since waking up requires some form of awareness . . ."

He asked the obvious question. "Have you tried to wake yourself up? Closing you eyes and imaging yourself awake, or the like?"

"Of course I've tried that. Many times. There is simply no response whatsoever."

He'd already guessed her answer, but nonetheless, it had been worth a shot. He sighed, shoulders slumping just an inch. "Well, there goes that then. Do you have any suggestions as to what we should do, Hawkeye?"

"Well—"

She was interrupted by swirling lights and colors that lasted only an instant before they found themselves back in the Hawkeye manor house.

Roy blinked. "A timeskip? That's . . . unusual. We haven't had a time skip to a different time period in days. We certainly due, of course, but as Havoc was saying earlier—"

He cut himself off as his face went white. He opened his mouth, but Hawkeye was already running for the door. He was close at her heels, and they circled the house, checking each room, phasing through walls and furniture and people.

They'd been at it for about an hour when they had to accept it.

The rest of the Mustang Squadron was nowhere to be found.

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Author's Note:**

In case it wasn't clear enough, they've become separated in the time stream, just like Falman was saying earlier. Havoc, Breda, Falman, Fuery, Ed, and Al are all in a different part of Riza's memories—maybe together, maybe not, I'm not entirely sure yet. We'll see how it turns out.

So anyway, this chapter is _finally _out. It's probably been more than a year at this point, and I want to take this opportunity to apologize profusely to all of my readers/any of you who are still left. I just couldn't figure out where I wanted to _go_ with this chapter, and with this story in general. It sort of morphed into something different than what I'd expected it to be when I started it, and I couldn't find a way to keep it going in the old direction, nor could I decide what I should do if I were to move it forward in a _new_ way. I re-wrote this chapter a million times, with a million different characters and plots and endings, and I couldn't get it to feel _right_, like it would be worth reading.

I think I've sort of got a grip on this now, but I really don't know for sure. I'm extremely sorry in advance if updates are slow, because I'm anticipating another busy year, but I _will not_ give up on this. I _love_ this story, despite all the trouble it's given me, and I will eventually find out exactly where it wants me to take it and let it lead me there.

I will try my best to make Secret Memories worthy of your time and patience, and I hope that from here on out I can continue to make it a story that you, the readers, will really enjoy. Thank you so much for sticking with me, and please forgive this unworthy author for everything she has put you through. _(kneels, places palms on floor, then touches forehead to ground)_

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